Friends suspect foul play in Customs officer's death

They insist that he was clean and could not be guilty of the graft allegations levelled against him.


The mystery surrounding Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed's death at the Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters is certain to be debated continuously in the coming days.

However, friends close to him believe foul play is involved.
A colleague of Ahmad Sarbani, who declined to be named, said he and the deceased had worked together in Port Klang.

"They (MACC) had accused him of being on the take, but we know the truth. He was the cleanest officer and a well-liked person by all staff.

NONE"We know who really is on the take and who is not and Ahmad Sarbani was certainly not," the colleague said.

The person claimed that the MACC had forced the senior Customs officer to admit to being involved in allegations of wrongdoing by threatening to put him to jail.

"They showed prison clothes to him (during the MACC interrogation) and threatened him.

"Hence, he was forced to admit," he said.

However, after Ahmad Sarbani had related what transpired to his friends, they advised him against admitting to anything, since he had done no wrong.

'Determined to let truth out

"He was determined to retract what he had said by taking the relevant documents to the MACC yesterday - but this (his death) was what happened.

"I am telling you this to maintain the deceased's honour and dignity, which have been tarnished by such reports and statements.

NONE"He cannot speak for himself as the dead do not rise. We cannot go to our department to find justice as its officers are facing allegations.

"Hence, I am letting you know this so the truth will be out," he said.

The man said he could not reveal his identity for fear of repercussions, insisting that he wanted to set the record straight as he did not want Ahmad Sarbani's maruah (honour) to be tarnished.

The person said he knew this as he had been close to Ahmad Sarbani and knew he "was not on the take".

Which assistant director (Ahmad Sarbani), he asked, would commute to work by motorcycle daily?

"He had a car, but was willing to do so as what he earned clearly came from his pay cheque," he said.

Scheduled to perform the haj

The man said it was illogical for Ahmad Sarbani to commit suicide as some had claimed, as the late officer had confided to him that he wanted to perform the haj this year.

Suicide is seen by Muslims as a heinous sin, and one who committed suicide would be condemned to the worst of God's punishments.

NONE"He (Ahmad Sarbani) had made arrangements to go with his wife and parents on a package arranged by an ustaz," he said.

"Why would he resort to this (suicide) when such arrangements (for the haj) had been made? He is not that kind of person."

Another colleague, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said he could not believe what the newspapers had reported on the manner of Ahmad Sarbani's death.

"We all do not trust newspapers anymore and the MACC's statements, as we knew Ahmad Sarbani well," the two colleagues said.

NONEHe was soft spoken, good hearted, not ill-tempered and was respected by staff and forwarding agents.

"He was sincere, clean and hardworking and all of us do not believe this graft allegation.

"Why would he go there to the MACC, unless summoned to do so?" they asked. "This defies logic."

They said besides friends and relatives, many who worked with Ahmad Sarbani were still in shock over what had happened and that they did not trust the MACC after what had happened to Teoh Beng Hock.

Big fish still roaming free

Teoh, a witness in a Selangor MACC investigation into the misuse of unds by state elected representatives, was found dead after being held overnight on July 16, 2009.

A female Customs officer said the MACC was only interested in catching small fish, not the "big fish who are still roaming free".

Another man who knew the deceased said he was upset over reports on the Ahmad Sarbani case as published by some Malay dailies.

"Some even printed the wrong picture and made unfounded allegations," he said.

NONEAhmad Sarbani was said to have gone to the MACC Kuala Lumpur office on Jalan Cochrane to meet an investigating officer.

He fell from the third floor of the four- storey building and landed on a badminton court still under construction.

Federal Territory police chief Zulkifli Abdullah said the case has been classified as "sudden death" and a special task force has been set up to investigate the death.

It is headed by Kuala Lumpur CID chief Ku Chin Wah. - Malaysiakini